Form for boots or shoes.



PATENTED MAR. 24, 1903.

0. A... BATGHBLDER. FORM FOR BOOTS 0R SHOES.

APPLIUATION IILBDMAR. 7 1901.-

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Yfzfiaesses UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

CHARLES A. BATCHELDER, OF BROCKTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO 0. A. MILLER TREEING MACHINE COMPANY, OF PORTLAND, MAINE, AND BROCKTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

FoRM FOR BOOTS OR SHOES.-

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 723,574, dated March 24, 1903.

Application filed March 7, 1901.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES A. BATOHEL- DER, of Brockton, in the county of Plymouth and State of Massachusetts, have invented 5 certain new and useful Improvements in Forms for Boots or Shoes, of which the following is a specification.

Thisinvention relates particularly to forms, followers, and lasts for use in boots and shoes.

[ A follower or second last-, as it is sometimes called, is used to fill the shoe and cause it to conform substantially to the shape of the original last upon which the shoe was shaped in the lasting operation. A follower I is used in a shoe after the shoe is partially made and while it is being manipulated or operated upon, as in blacking and dressing it. A form may be constructed the same as a follower and is used in shoes to cause them ac to retain their shape while exhibited for sale. Forms are also used to restore shoes to their proper shape after they have become wet or when the shape of the shoe has become distorted by wear, and they are sometimes used for holding shoes while being polished.

For convenience in inserting followers, forms, and lasts into shoes and withdrawing them it is desirable that the fore part and heel part be movably connected in such way that they can be shortened when inserting them and then lengthened to fill out the shoe and force it into shape.

The present invention relates to that class of forms, followers, and lasts in which the fore part and heel part are movably connected, and for convenience the term shoeform will hereinafter be used in referring to these forms, followers, and lasts.

A form embodying the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings to illustrate the invention.

In followers and lasts it is desirable that the side faces be smooth and uninterruped near the top, so as to give support to the sides of theshoe when it is being handled or operated upon, while in forms used in shoes which are to be exhibited, particularly low-cut or Oxford shoes, it is desirable for the best appearance of the shoe that both the upper into which the form has been inserted.

Serial No. 50,261. (No model.)

portion of the sides of the form and the top face also present smooth uninterrupted surfaces.

One feature of my invention consists in providim. ashoe-form which com prises a fore part and a heel part connected for relative swinging movement with side faces, the upper portions of which constitute an uninterrupted support for the sides of the shoe. In the preferred embodiment of the invention the shoef0rm is provided also with an unin- 6o terrupted top surface. V

In the preferred embodimentof my invention I have provided a shoe-form comprising a fore part and a heel part movably connected together, one of which parts is formed with a recess and the other of which parts is provided with a portion adapted to project across the upper part of said recess, said fore part and heel part with the projecting portion constitutingasubstantially uninterrupted surface at the upper portion of the shoeform.

Other features of the invention, including certain details of construction and combinations of parts, will be set forth in the specification, and pointed out in the claims.

Figure 1 shows a plan view of a shoe-form containingthe preferred embodiment of myinvention. Fig. 2 shows a side elevation of the shoe-form shown in Fig. 1 and also discloses by broken lines a low-cut or Oxford shoe Fig.

3 shows in side elevation a modified construction of shoe-form.

Like characters of referenceindicate like parts wherever they occur.

The shoe-form isdivided transversely into a fore part a and a heel part b, which are connected together in the construction herein shown by a hinge c. The adjacent surfaces a b of the fore part and heel part below the hinge abut against each other when the shoeform is extended to limit the relative movement of the fore part and heel partin one direction, and preferably these surfaces extend to the bottom of the form. One of the parts of the shoe-form, herein shown as the fore part, is cut away to form a transverse recess 61, across the upper portion of which extends a tongue or extension b of the other part of the shoe-form, said tongue closing the open side of the recess d, so that said recess lies wholly within the body of the form. The front wall a of the recess d extends in a curve substantiallyconcentricwiththeaxisaboutwhich the heel part of the shoe-form turns. That end 19 of the tongue I) which is adjacent the wall a is similarly curved, so as to leave no opening between it and the wall a, and yet to permit the heel part to swing freely from the full-line to the dotted-line position in Fig. 2. The recess 61 is of sufficient depth to allow the heel part and its tongue to swing far enough to shorten the form for permitting it to be inserted readily into a shoe.

a indicates the lower wall of the recess d, and b the lower surfaceof the tongue W. The tongue is thick enoughto provide a face extending some distance below the upper edge of a low-cut shoe when the shoe is applied to the form, so as to constitute a support for the side of the shoe and also to present the appearance of a solid form when in the shoe.

The heel part is provided with a suitable handle 6 to aid in swinging it to shorten the shoe-form and by means of which the form may be held while polishing a shoe that is supported on the form.

In the construction shown in Fig. 2 the plate of the hinge c, which is attached to the heel part b, is secured by being inserted into a slot 11 between the upper and lower portions of the heel partand is fastened by screws or pins I), inserted from the bottom of the heel part and extending through holes in the hinge-plate.

In Fig. 3 I have shown the heel part cut away to form the recess b the walls of which are continuations of the Walls of the recess (Z. In this construction the hinge-plates may be secured to the fore part and the heel part of the shoe-form by bolts 6L5 and if, provided with usual nuts.

I have described and illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention; but it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto, but may be embodied in widely-different shapes of the heel part and fore part of the form, follower, or last, and said parts may be connected together in any convenient way for relative movement.

Having fully set forth the nature of my invention and a manner of constructing and using the same, What I desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a shoe-form, a fore part and a heel part pivoted together, said fore part being cut away to form a recess in its side adjacent the heel part, and a tongue on said heel part projecting forwardly across said recess to the fore part for the purpose set forth.

2. In a shoe-form, a fore part and a heel part pivotally connected, one of said parts being cut away at its side adjacent the other part to form a recess, and a tongue on said other part projecting across said recess and forming with said heel part and fore part an uninterrupted face of the shoe form.

3. In ashoe-form, a fore part and a heel part hinged together, said fore part being cut away to'form a recess and having its rear surface curved substantially concentric with the pivotal. center of said hinge connection, and a tongue on said heel part projecting across said recess to said curved wall of the fore part, said tongue having its top surface flush with the surface of the fore part and constituting with said fore part and heel partan uninterrupted top face of the shoe-form.

a. A shoe-form divided transversely to provide abutting surfaces extending from the bottom upwardly to a point within the body of the form, an open space extending in a forward direction therefrom, and abutting surfaces extending fromsaid open space to the top of the form,whereby the heel part may be tipped forwardlyinto said open space to shorten the form.

5. A shoe-form divided transversely to provide abut-ting surfaces extending frotn the bottom upwardly to a point within the body of the form, an open space extending thence in a forward direction, and a line of division between adjacent surfaces of the parts of the form extending from said open space to the top of the form, whereby the heel part is free to be tipped forwardly into said open space to shorten the form.

6. A shoe-form divided transversely to provide abutting surfaces extending from the bottom upwardly to a point within the body of the form, an open space extending thence in a forward direction, and a line of division between adjacent surfaces of the parts of the form extending from said open space to the top of the form in combination with a pivotal connection between the two parts of the form.

7. A shoe-form divided transversely to provide abutting surfaces extending from the bottom upwardly to a point within the body of the form, a triangular space extending from said point toward the instep, and a line of division between adjacent surfaces of the parts of the form extending from said space tothe top of the form.

8. A shoe-form comprising a fore part and a heel part hinged together, one of said parts having a recess and the other part having an extension or tongue occupying the full length of the upper part of the recess when the heel part is in its lowermost position, to present a smooth and uniform upper surface of the form when it isin position in a shoe.

Intestimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES A. BATCHELDER.

\Vitnesses:

HENRY CHADBOURN, OoRA J. CHADBOURN. 

